With the advents of the printing press, typeset, typewriting machines, computer-implemented document processing and mass data storage, the amount of information generated by mankind has risen dramatically and with an ever quickening pace. As a result, there is a continuing need to collect, store, identify, track, classify, catalogue, link, retrieve and/or distribute this growing sea of information.
Within many areas and industries, including the legal industry, there are content and enhanced experience providers, such as THOMSON REUTERS® Corporation. These providers identify, collect, analyze and process the growing sea of information for use in generating content, such as law related reports, articles, etc., for consumption by professionals and others involved in their respective industries. Therefore, these providers are continually looking for products and services to help subscribers, clients and customers distinguish themselves over the competition. Moreover, such providers strive to create enhancement tools, including search and ranking tools, to enable clients to process only relevant information and to make informed decisions.
In particular, for example, legal professionals in the U.S. and abroad are often involved in litigation, arbitration, mediation, administrative proceedings and/or other evidentiary processes wherein a large amount of information is collected. For instance, in a litigation matter there are often numerous depositions in which several thousands of pages of recorded, videotaped, and transcribed testimony are accumulated. There is a constant need in the legal community to efficiently and effectively create, track, edit, search, access and/or use voluminous materials and information when providing legal services.
Currently, known enhancement tools help a professional create, track, edit, search, access and use voluminous materials and information to stay competitive within the industry. First, MICROSOFT® Windows Explorer allows a user to create and organize electronic files into folders so that a user can easily find the file once he/she wants to retrieve it later. Second, document processing applications such as MICROSOFT® Word and WORDPERFECT® enable users to create, save, modify and print an electronic document.
For example, MICROSOFT® Word and WORDPERFECT® permit a user to use copy and paste and/or cut and paste functionalities on selected text. The copy and paste functionality allows a user to duplicate the selected text and insert that selected text within the current document or another document. The cut and paste functionality allows a user to remove the selected text and insert that selected text within the current document or another document. Another useful, but separate, function, from above listed functionalities, is the ability to insert a hyperlink within a document. The hyperlink, when selected, navigates the user to another document, website and/or location. Yet another function within a document processing application is the ability to create outlines.
In continuing with the legal professional example, attorneys use outlines at various stages of litigation (e.g. depositions, witness preparation, and/or trial). For instance, an attorney preparing for trial often prepares an outline for questioning a witness. During preparation, the attorney and/or paralegal typically pour through the deposition transcripts and videotapes associated with the trial witness, as well as other deponents, to identify areas of questioning and/or past responses. Additionally, the attorney's outline attempts to identify, collect and incorporate a vast collection of pleadings, documents, exhibits, and other information. This vast collection may be used for trial planning, for fast, effective reference, and for possible presentation during trial. For instance, during trial, the attorney needs to be able to quickly reference the past testimony of the witness and others, as well as locate and submit exhibits to assist in the questioning and presentation of evidence. Being able to quickly reference the aforementioned items gives the attorney an edge. For example, the attorney may use those previous statements and/or exhibits to discredit the witness in front of a jury or other fact finder. When drafting that outline, the attorney, most likely, utilizes the copy and paste and/or cut and paste function several times. The attorney may even be inclined to perform a separate function of inserting a hyperlink into the outline. However, there are several times while creating an outline where an attorney wants to copy/paste a set of selected text into the outline but also wants to have a link back to the source document in case the attorney needs to reference the selected text during, for example, a deposition. Current document processing applications do not provide this type of simultaneous functionality of pasting the selected text from a source document along with a hyperlink back to the source document into the deposition outline.
Additionally, an attorney may also want to annotate an outline. Once the attorney has completed the outline, he/she may want to print, within the single print session, two versions of the deposition outline, an annotated version and a non-annotated version. Current document processing applications only allow for printing either the annotated or the non-annotated version, then switching views and printing the opposite version in a second print session.
Accordingly, the inventors have recognized the necessity for additional improvements in providing outline and print functionality for electronic documents.